JUE RURAL MEW-Y9RKIR. 
plant potatoes 20 days late to make up. The 
only good crop he ever had was one raised by 
his wife while he was sick. 
The American Dairyman wonders who will 
be first to advertise polled herds of Jerseys. 
It thinks the horns of this breed are already in 
a dilapidated condition. They grow in all 
directions, are soft and easily broken, and 
would be much better bred into the air. A 
polled cow' is surely better looking than a “lop 
horn, 1 ’ or a cow with an ugly stub sticking up 
from her head.... 
We never lose information by giving it 
away.. 
Prof. Brown says that, animals can not be 
fattened on roots without grain. No animals 
can be made to pay their keeping when fed 
for beef, unless the value of their manure is 
taken into the account. Stock husbandry is 
yet the chief reliance to the ordinary farmer. 
Roots are worth more in practice than chem¬ 
ical analysis indicates. The water in roots is 
not like the water from the pump. Enough 
roots should be fed to prevent cattle from 
drinking much water...... 
Carelessness in saving manure has driven 
more than one farmer “out West.” The same 
carelessuess, if inherited, wall send his child¬ 
ren still further tow'ards the “setting sun,” or 
into the factory. 
Nitrogen has often been called the lazy 
mammal element. It hates to enter into a 
combination with other substances w’here it 
would be obliged to work at farming. It is 
the chemical gentleman of agriculture. It 
floats lazily in the air, even though plants that 
it brushes against are dying for it. It is slow 
about entei’ing work, it is like a flash in getting 
out of it w'hen once it has been trapped. Any 
farmer who throws his barn-yard manure out 
into the rain will sadly testify to this latter 
fact. 
The English Farm and Home says that the 
old English song, “ The Roast Beef of Old 
England,” was written and composed after a 
dinner of beef from the ten-year-old steer 
which had done his plowing and his harrow¬ 
ing, and been “fatted off” for market on the 
turnips he helped to cart to the homestead. 
Fat-stock show beef is not the best to eat, 
though it ought to be... 
The Philadelphia Press has an article on 
“Tree Butchers,” under which head it classes 
those who wantonly destroy forests as well as 
those who disfigure trees and shrubs by un¬ 
skillful cutting. It is not in all respects a 
good name. A butcher always grows fat at 
his business, however savage it may be; the 
tree butcher will grow poorer the longer he 
works at his trade. 
The U. S. Dairyman says that butter, in 
the granular form, may lie an hour in the brine 
and yet take no harm. No more salt will en¬ 
ter the globules than is needed. The overplus 
will ran off. Too much salt can be ground in¬ 
to butter, by mecbauical force, but it will not 
absorb any more than it needs. 
There is little value in a single test of milk. 
There are too many conditions of weather, 
feed, temper and treatment that affect milk to 
render a single test absolutely reliable. 
Scrub cows appear to have some arrange¬ 
ment within them that skims the milk before 
it passes into the udder. It is hard to say 
where the cream goes to. It must be spent 
mostly iu thickening hide and building up 
bone, It takes a thick hide to sell for 20 cents 
per pound, and ground bone is dull at two 
cents. The scrub cows appear to use the ma¬ 
terial, which in a thoroughbred would produce 
50 pounds of 80-cent butter, in making one 
pound of hide or bone. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Georgia. 
Macon, Bibb Co.—The Rural seeds all did 
well. The corn was grown on poor, thin soil, 
well manured. The stalks grew from five feet 
to eight feet high, and bore from one to five 
ears. One (a yellow dent) was fit for the 
table in 70 days. The peas were very fine. 
The Rural Bi-color Tomato is of superior ex¬ 
cellence ; but I think uot better than Living¬ 
ston’s Prolific. The beans I consider of little 
value either as snap or shelled. The Garden 
Treasures were very pretty. d. m. 
Indiana. 
Montpelier, Blackford Co., Jan. 14.—My 
Diehl-Mediterranean Wheat was splendid; and 
my Thousand-fold Rye was also good. The 
Green Flageolet Beau yields well. The toma¬ 
toes were not so good as the ones produced 
from seed of the year before. The peas did 
well. The Johnson Grass I did not plant. The 
eoi'n amounted to nothing. p. l. e. 
UNCINULA SPIRALIS. 
'onidJa and M; 
Spores .—After Farlow. 
Fig. 47. (See page 72.) 
a, Conidla and Mycelium; b, Perlthecium, with appendages; c, Ascl and 
Shousetown, Allegheny Co.— 
I cannot do without the Rural. 
I value the Seed Distribution 
highly. The D-M. Wheat I think 
good. The 50 different, kinds of 
corn were no "use here. The 
Rural Union Dent sent out in 
1884, is fine; it yielded one-third 
more than the Learning on the 
same ground. J. c. b. 
Wintep.burn, Clearfield Co.— 
In summing up the year’s opera¬ 
tions in agriculture in this 
county, the general condition 
is that the. * farmers have been 
liberally reworded for their 
labor, although prices of produce 
are uot the best. Crops were 
good aud are remunerative at 
present figures. Winter com¬ 
menced early here, and we had 
several weeks of good sleighing, 
but it turned warm on the 20th, 
taking off the snow, and we hav e 
had no sleighing since. H. F. s. 
North Pine Grove, Clarion Co.—Both 
varieties of Rural Peas did well. The Flageo¬ 
let Beans all grew well, ripened early aud 
yielded well The Johnson Grass did not 
come up. The 50 crosses of corn all came up 
nicely and grew well from five to twelve feet 
high, and had one to five ears on a stalk; but 
none ripened really well. The King Humbert 
Tomatoes were tine. The Garden Treasures 
gave us a choice selection of very fine llowers 
all Summer and Fall. We had a very fair 
crop of hay; wheat was one-half a crop, oats 
a full crop; potatoes, poor and badly rotted; 
apples the largest crop we ever had aud of 
the best quality. Buckwheat a fair crop. 
Prices of ail farm products are low. Success 
to the Rural! a. b. 
PERONOSPORA VITICOLA. 
(See page 7 
Fig. 48. 
a, Mycelium, with Couldla (b by, o, Haustorla; d oos¬ 
pore; e, zoospores.— ifter Farlow. 
Pennsylvania. 
Kansas. 
Michigan Valley, Osage Co.—The Rural 
Com did well. I intend planting the best of 
it again. The peas and beans were very fine. 
The tomatoes did not do well, as the weather 
was wet; they grew all to vines aud no fruit. 
The Johnson Grass did not come up. The 
Garden Treasures were particularly fine. I 
had an eudless variety of beautiful and choice 
flowers, and many perennials. We are all 
flower lovers atthis ranch. d. j. 
New Jersey. 
Manalapan, Monmouth Co.—Some of the 
Rural seeds have been quite valuable to me, 
among which are the the Mold’s Ennobled 
Oats and the Blush Potato. Some kinds of 
landlord, especially where the renter deems it 
cheaper to move than remain another year, 
and try to pay up old scores. Tobacco plant¬ 
ers have done somewhat better for many years 
past; yet mixed faiming would be much 
safer aud more profitable, as has been demon¬ 
strated by all those who can be induced to 
practice it. The prices iu our home market 
are:—Wheat, good, si.25; corn, 80 cents; cot¬ 
ton, S'.i cents; sweet potatoes, 75 cents; Irish 
do., £1 to 81.25; hay, in bale, 820 to 825: eggs, 
20 cents; butter, prime, 30 ceuts, Until Jan¬ 
uary 4, we had a delightful Fall and Winter 
—no cold weather or severe storms to inter¬ 
rupt farm work. Roads good, and but little 
fuel required for comfort. Stock came into 
the New Year iu better condition than usual, 
which is fortunate, owiugto our 
light forage. A heavy rain on 
the 4th was followed by cooler 
weather until the 8th, w r hen snow' 
and sleet covered the ground, the 
weather grow ing colder until this 
morning when the mercury went 
to 2 U above zero, with indications 
of milder w'eather. M. b. p. 
corn also grew well, as did the Cuthbert Rasp¬ 
berry and the R. N.-Y. Pea. The Blush made 
a much better crop than any potato 1 grew 
this year. The beetles ate them but little,and 
the grab-w’orm did but little damage. The 
R. N.-Y. Pea bears well and ripens early, 
W. H. DU B. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name 
and address of the writer to insure attention. Before 
asking a question, please see if it is not answered in 
our advertising columns. Ask only a few questions at 
one timej _ 
New York. 
„ Stapleton, Richmond Co.—All the Rural 
seeds did well. The corn was interesting, some 
stalks having four ears (not large, however), a 
large number having three, and more two. Of 
these last, some were splendid and on almost 
all that bore only one ear, that w'as excellent. 
The peas and beans did well. I like the Rural 
Union Corn the best. The flowers were ap¬ 
preciated very highly. In fact, all seeds from 
the Rural are considered, by me at least, 
worthy of a careful trial w. e. s. 
North Carolina. 
Henderson, Vauce Co., Jan. 11.—We read 
a great deal iu the papers of the great pros¬ 
perity of the South during the year 1885, 
which may all be true of the section as a whole, 
but it is not so of this portion of it. Oar crops 
of all kinds w'ere light. Cotton, on which we 
depend considerably as a money crop, was not 
more than two-tliirds of an average, and, be¬ 
sides, the price is so low as to barely pay the 
cost of production when up to a full average. 
This condition of things causes inability on the 
part of tenant fanners to pay then' rent, 
which in many cases entails a dead loss to the 
angora goats; scabies or prurigo in a 
horse, etc. 
K. O ., San Juan, Cal. —1. Where can I get 
a full-blood Angora “billy goat ?” 2. How long 
does a female of that breed carry her young ? 
8. One of my horses bites ami scratches him¬ 
self until he is covered with sores; what ails 
him? 4. What is a good washing machine? 
5. What is the best potato digger ? 
Ans. —Large numbers of these goats are 
profitably kept in the mountainous parts of 
Southeru California; but we do uot know who 
has them for sale in that State. They can be 
Obtained from Robert W. Scott, Frankfort, 
Ky., or Richard Peters, Atlanta, Ga., the oldest 
breeder and importer in the United States. 
They are worth about 850 per pair, 2. Five 
months, or about 150 days. 8. The inatation 
of the skin, causing the horse to nib and bite 
himself, is due either to scabies (also culled 
mange, itch, scab, etc.), or prurigo. The for¬ 
mer is a disease of the skin caused by the pres- 
1 euce of acari or the itch parasite, while the 
latter is a nervous irritation of the skin, most 
commonly due to disordered digestion or un¬ 
wholesome surroundings. For scabies, exam¬ 
ine the skin very carefully for the presence 
small scabs or crusts. Remove a few of the 
crusts, brash them up over a sheet of white 
paper and watch very closely (preferably with 
a magnifying glass), for any movement among 
the fine particles. It may be necessary to ex¬ 
amine several crusts before one will be found 
iu which the minute parasites may be seen. 
When their presence becomes known, the 
treatment is quite simple, but to be entirely 
successful it must be very thorough. Wash 
the animal thoroughly with warm, stroug, 
soft soap suds and a stiff brush, to break up and 
remove all the crusts. Then apply a decoction 
of tobacco made by boiling one pound of good 
leaf tobacco in 12 quarts of water. Repeat 
the applicat ion on the third and sixth days if 
necessary, after washing with the soap suds as 
before. It will also be necessary to treat the 
woodwork of the stable, harness, saddles and 
all grooming utensils to a similar thorough 
cleaning and the application of the tobacco 
liquor or a strong solution of caustic potash. 
Blankets and other clothing may be boiled 
for a few hours in strong soap suds. If fowls 
are allowed the run of the buildings, and es¬ 
pecially if their roost is iu close proximity to 
the stables, it would be well to whitewash the 
walls of the stables aud roost with freshly 
slacked quick-lime. Clean, dry, airy buildings 
are veryimportant auxiliaries iu the prevention 
of scabies. For prurigo, which is to be sus¬ 
pected in the absence of any parasites, give a 
purgative—four to six drams of Barbadoes 
aloes, according to the size of the animal—and 
put on a strict laxative diet. Bathe the skin, 
when irritated, with a mixture of two drams 
of liquor of potash, aud one dram of hydro¬ 
cyanic acid, in one quart of water. Internally' 
give, night and moruing, four drams of bi¬ 
carbonate of soda and two or three grains of 
arsenic, to be given iu solution and continued 
for one or two weeks, or until the irritation 
Ceases. 4. The Keystone aud Walker machines, 
for sale by Frank Adams, Erie, Pa., are both 
good. 5. The Harrington Potato Digger, 
made by the Planters 1 Hoe Co., Troy, N. Y., 
is as good as any’. 
ACTION OK GYPSUM ON LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 
It. II ., Montreal. Prow of Quebec, Can .—In 
this Province, sulphate of lime (called here 
land-plaster) is largely used as an application 
for field peas, being sown broadcast on the foli¬ 
age while still wet with dew, after the plants 
are three or four inches high. In a few days, 
the effect is evident from the increased green¬ 
ness. What is the action that takes place? Does 
the sulphate draw ammonia M'liich is then 
absorbed by the leaves? 
ANSWERED BY PROF. 8. W. JOHNSON. 
It is an old obseiwation that gypsum 
sprinkled ou the leaves of leguminous plants 
when wet, appears to deepen their green color, 
and to give them a look of increased health 
and vigor. Whether the same result would 
follow a similar sprinkling in the absence of 
dew, or if an equal dose of the sulphate were 
applied directly to'thesoil, or, finally, if there 
were no application whatever, has not, to my 
knowledge, been the subject of comparative 
experiments. If we take it for granted that 
sulphate of lime, sprinkled on the leaves of 
peas w hen wet with dew, really cuuses them 
to take on a deeper green color, I can offer no 
satisfactory' explantion of such an effect. The 
sulphate of lime can scarcely act by drawing 
ammonia, for the reason that ah' and dew con¬ 
tain very little ammonia to be drawn. A 
million parte of air contain, by the most 
liberal estimates, but two parts of ammonia. 
Bouasingault fouud in a million of dew but 
four to six parts of ammonia. It is according¬ 
ly' difficult to see how pluster can visibly affect 
vegetation by collecting ammonia from these 
sources. If there be a real effect, it is most, 
likely the result of the solution of the sulphate 
of lime itself in the dew, aud its absorbtiou by 
the leaf. But even here considerable difficul¬ 
ties are in the way. It is a.fact that dew con¬ 
densed from the air by a fall of temperature, 
rests in globular drops on the leal’ hairs, having 
very little contact with the leaf, and probably 
evaporates away for the most part, without 
wetting or being at all absorbed by the foliage, 
whose surface is, in fact, so slightly adapted 
to absorbtiou .that, us Duchastre has demon¬ 
strated, a healthy plant continuously loses 
weight, by loss of water, when exposed for 
hours to rain, if that rain is allowed to fall on 
its leaves only, and is debarred access to the 
soil. 
Again, iu accord with the above facts, is 
the observation that much of the dew seen 
on foliage in the morning after a cool night 
is water exuded from the^ loaves aud not 
water condensed from the air, the natural 
course Of the water of vegetation being,in at the 
loots and out at the leaves. It would, there¬ 
fore, appeal - highly probably tha t t he increased 
greenness noticed u few days after the sprink¬ 
ling of plaster, is either not the effect of the 
sulphate of lime at all, or is the effect of it 
after it has mostly fallen to the ground aud 
